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| sent on 23 Luglio 2017
Pros: Instant, silent AF; Sharpness; Lightweight; Compact, VR; Price (if bought carefully)
Cons: Incompatible with ALL Nikon DSLR's before the D7100 (and responding 3*** and 5*** series; No VR or AF switches on the lens; Slow max aperture especially at 300mm; Cheap and very boring looking; No lenshood or accessories provided (Juza listing is wrong in this aspect)
Opinion: Prolific lens reviewer Ken Rockwell (USA) always wrote that he would only use Nikon lenses and not independents as there was no guarantee that the non Nikkor lenses would work in the future. WELL!! Here is Nikon automatically eliminating users of older DSLRs other than (mostly) current cameras that simply will not work at all with this new lens, aimed squarely at the beginner. SO! How is myself an advanced photographer of 40 years experience using one of these nasty lumps of plastic? Well, my just over one year old Tamron SP 70-300mm VC (my second example, as I had so loved and used the first for over 5 years but the AF motor became very noisy, unreliable and then broke. It was still under Tamron's 5 year extended warranty but I cannot get past the camera shop who I had bought it from, who say that in their opinion, a bit of sand or similar had got inside and therefore it was my fault and not the lens', or Tamron's. It was going to cost £100 just for an independent repairer just to look at it, let alone replace the motor.
So, putting aside the Pro spec Tamron until I can afford the time it would take and cost to repair it, this little light Nikkor caught my attention. It was on offer from Nikon and from ebay on a grey import, it was cheaper still! (less than £200). I had quickly tried it in a different camera shop, moaning about Nikon's compatilbiity issues and so tried it on my D7100. When Nikon and others say "Quick AF", it is INSTANT. And absolutely silent, which is quite disarming, at first. From the shop doorway, I shot a banner 100 meters across the road at both f6.3 and f10 at 300mm. I showed the shop assistant on the camera screen the image as I zoomed in - at both apertures, with the yellow zoom window at its tiniest (we're talking of actual pixels, then zoomed in yet again) you could still read the wording on the banner. He looked amazed.
I then read an online review www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-af-p-dx-nikkor-70-300mm-f-4-5-6-3-g-ed-vr-review-30569 where the lens was awarded 5*s and Editor's Choice and it seems that this lens outperforms all previous Nikon 70-300mm's, including the expensive FX AF-S VR. I then ordered the lens and the appropriate LL-77 lenshood - don't buy the overpriced Nikon (mine is JJC, £12 Amazon) and after the weighty, (this Nikon is almost half the weight) rather noisy and slow AF and VC of the old Tamron, this understated Nikon was a joy to carry around along with a wider zoom on a long hot summer's walk, where there is plenty of light and you are wearing few clothes to cushion heavy rucksacks etc. The shots on the Canal that day, often against the light, on into dusk, were all perfectly focused and I got many nice images with almost no effort. Manual focus override is actually very easy, keeping the shutter down halfway (this is always required to focus, whatever distance you had the lens previously set to) and then the other hand turn and hold the well geared and accurate MF ring at the end of the lens barrel.
The issue with older cameras, such as my D7100, is that the firmware required to enable the AF and VR (which is otherwise ALWAYS enabled) doesn't seem to be available. New cameras access this via menus on their cameras. So, with constant AF (unless manually overidden) and permanent VR, this would make the lens totally unsuitable for tripod work? Well, I didn't really buy the lens for this use but had a chance to take a 10 second night time architectural shot at 300mm. On a Manfrotto BeFree tripod! (Which is totally unsuitable for a equivalent 450mm lens!). Not only did the lens hold the focus but somehow, the image was sharp! Whether the VR actually remained active throughout the exposure or how it was achieved without shake, I was very pleased. However, this is not an endorsement or fact that this would apply to other occasions or other users.
Why Nikon are selling a non VR version as well is a very good question. The VR will get you down to 1/20 sec at 300mm and the lens all in does a really good job, in terms of contrast, colour rendition and sharpness. It focuses reasonably close too and out of focus areas look quite good as well. Would I recommend this lens? Well, it depends on who the photographer was and what they were using it for. It's far from being a professional lens, but in the right conditions it can create images as good as any other lens. I'm sure it would be a better buy than an all in one superzoom of 18-300mm, which would have the same maximum aperture at the long end. But unlike that superzoom, with almost unnoticeable pincushion distortion and a usability at every aperture - especially at f6.3 300mm. It would be too slow for most serious Street and Candid and Events photography, as well as Sports and Wildlife, but for a cheap light lens great for landscapes and travel and is of really surprising sharpness, I am really very satisfied with my purchase and have no regrets. Overall score 9/10 |
The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.
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